Where Shadows Dwell
by Yumetaka Kourui
Summary: A girl from our world has somehow appeared in the Naruto universe. She has a mysterious past and no one knows very much about her. Will she remain in the shadows, watching history take its course? or will she decide to change the timeline?
1. Prologue

I am not exactly sure how I'll write the rest of the chapters... I can either start back before this happened, and go from start to finish (maybe one or two flashbacks), or I can continue on from here, possibly from a different point of view, and do flashbacks showing her past.

* * *

_The calming night wind rustled the leaves of far off trees. A lake as smooth as glass reflected the full moon. Ripples disrupted the surface of the water as a pale pink petal floated down, carried by the wind, from the branches of a lone sakura tree. The dark green grass stirred in the breeze, glowing gently from the moon's light. In the distance, a single frog croaked, starting the nighttime chorus of all sorts of creatures. A gentle gust of wind pushed the sakura petal across the lake, guiding it toward the opposite shore where a small figure knelt, gazing at the moon._

_A silver tear rolled down the girl's cheek, caused by a sorrowful thought. A gentle movement caught her eye, drawing her gaze to the solitary sakura petal. She closed her eyes, rising to her feet. That single petal, carrying a message only she knew, had firmed her resolve. The girl turned her head away from the lake, looking toward the forest._

_The icy breeze swept her ebony hair, as if urging her on her way. The girl spared the lake and sakura tree a final glance before departing. Forsaking everything familiar, thoughts lingering on the only things she ever loved, she continued onward. Creating for herself a new life; to go forward, unable to turn back, leaving precious things behind, with no guarantee of seeing them again._

* * *

Starting at the past, or continuing on with flashbacks of the past? ...Maybe I'll just flip a coin... Yes, I procrastinate. But, yes, I am currently in the mood for writing. I suppose for now I'll just continue on, but I won't post anything until I've thought it through and asked my friends. Even if I started at the past, I could use the pages I write that continue the story, but if I were to start writing on her past, I may or may not use them. So if you have a preference, vote! If not... I suppose I'll post whatever I write and my friends choose.


	2. Konoha

Heads up, this chapter's a bit boring. My description really started lacking after the first few paragraphs. I _would_ say that it'll get better in future chapters, but I have no guarantee of that. Sure, the plot will pick up a bit, but I'm just not that great of a writer, all in all. I appreciate any and all readers. Reviews are welcome, as well as suggestions. NOTE: I changed a few things, just saying. So if you've read this before you may or may not notice differences.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. That _should_ be kind of obvious.

* * *

The sun rose slowly from behind the mountains' peaks, framed by the cloudless sky. The wind blew softly, bringing with it the aromas of springtime. A young girl opened her eyes from her place in the branches of one of the larger trees. The ten-year-old hopped down to the ground before stretching the sleep from her limbs, breathing in the fresh air.

'_I've rested long enough. I'd best keep moving,'_ she thought to herself.

The night before, the girl had stopped just after midnight. She chose a tree and sat on one of the branches, leaning against the trunk, and let her mind wander while resting her body. She didn't dare sleep. She didn't want to be caught off guard for one thing, but that wasn't the main reason. The main reason, which she kept to herself, was known solely by her.

Dark, medium-short hair was loose around the girl's shoulders. She was wearing long, black, form fitting shorts, a light green, three-quarter sleeve, form fitting shirt ending a little below her elbow, and standard black shinobi sandals. Her arms were wrapped from her palm to just below her elbow and her legs were wrapped from her ankle to just below her knee, the very top of the bandages being covered by the shorts.

The girl started off at a walk to get her muscles warmed up. The early sun was beginning to warm up the forest; a forest that was near Konoha, her destination. She was only about a day and a half away from the village.

The girl had never been given a proper name until just three weeks before, when she left, or rather escaped from, her previous residence. Though she was earning freedom, she was losing the people she cared about. Before that time, though, she had given herself a name, Yuriame. Sure, she had a name from the other world, but that was there, and it didn't exactly mix with the current language. She was an English speaker, with an English name. This world spoke Japanese, so she chose a Japanese name. The name she had been given three weeks ago, though, changed her life. She knew who she was, though she would likely keep that name to herself for at least a couple more years, because if she told that, she'd have to explain a lot more, more than she was willing to.

'_Yuriame,'_ she thought_. 'I've been thinking of myself as Yuriame for a few years now. My name from before hardly applies to me anymore. _Alexis_… it sounds so foreign now. Yuriame: lily rain. Simple, charming, with a slight touch of girly…. But however much I say it, it's not my real name, and I don't want it to be. I have an identity now, and I'm quite proud of it… just not of my past.'_

By now Yuriame was leaping from branch to branch, using her chakra both to give her feet a better grip on the branches and to allow her to jump farther. She let her mind wander to different subjects, some thinking of the future, others of the past, and some filled with timeless truths and thoughts. But right now, her mind was focused on the present.

'_I wonder where on the timeline I am… perhaps sometime during Minato, the Fourth Hokage's lifetime, before the attack of the Kyuubi. Or maybe it's between the time that Sasuke leaves Konoha and the time Pein attacks the village… with any luck, I'll be around the same age as the Rookie Nine. No matter where in the timeline I am, though, I'll need to act carefully, in hope of being able to predict as much of the future as possible. The knowledge that if I said one wrong thing, that it could lose the lives of so many people… it's a lot for just one person…'_

Yuriame pondered this, along with ideas of what she'd do when she got in the village, all the while staying alert should she run across Konoha shinobi. She very much doubted she could sense ANBU, or even Jounin and the stronger Chuunin, but she'd do everything she could to make it go smoothly.

'_Hmm… I might need a family name… Perhaps Hanshou… maybe… Kumohane? Or possibly… Tayume? _Tayume Yuriame_… good enough, I suppose,'_ she mused.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Yuriame had been traveling at a fast pace until 3p.m. when she took a break and ate half of her remaining food.

'_A day and a half… 36 hours, about 8 spent resting, that's 28 hours of traveling. I've already gone 8 hours, so I have 20 hours of left. I can't afford to stop for long, but if I continue until around 9p.m. and take a one hour break, I can hopefully arrive in Konoha by noon tomorrow.'_

Konohagakure no Sato, or the Village Hidden in the Leaves, was Yuriame's destination. Starting a new life, discovering her location on the timeline, along with the ability to change the fate of the world-hopefully for the better-all in one place. Also, she'd be able to meet most of her favorite characters from the Naruto manga. Not all, but most.

Yuriame, then called Alexis, was a fan of the Naruto manga, knowing almost everything about it that was possible to know. She also thought logically, and she had immediately come to the conclusion that she had to be exceedingly careful, because if she said or did something wrong, even one tiny, seemingly insignificant thing, it could ruin the future, possibly making it unpredictable and irreparable. But, Yuriame thought, if she tread carefully she may be able to predict some of the future, knowing what she did about the manga-significant shinobi. But, knowledge or no knowledge, she had to make herself a shadow, merely blending in until she could form a good plan. Hell, she didn't even know where in the timeline she was, yet!

Yuriame continued traveling toward Konoha at full speed until around 9p.m, just as she had planned. She took the hour rest, eating the rest of the food she had with her. Leaning against the trunk of a tree, Yuriame meditated, keeping aware of her surroundings. Once she had recovered, she set out toward Konoha again, not willing to wait long in fear of any pursuers she may, or may not, have.

As she got closer and closer to her destination, Yuriame could see the subtle changes in the forest. From time to time, the plant life would change, and she would note where each sector was in relation to the others for easier navigation in the future.

The horizon grew lighter. It was nearing 7a.m. and Yuriame was beginning to feel exhausted. Not only was she running nonstop, but she often would use her chakra to jump from branch to branch when the foliage got too thick and hindering. She was beginning to run low on chakra, and still had five hours to go, thanking the gods the whole way for her endurance and medical knowledge that was getting her this far.

Traveling was getting a little easier as Yuriame got closer and closer to her destination, the forest around Konoha naturally being more traveled than further away forests, so she put up a simple Genjutsu which would mask her presence from any inexperienced Genin or Chuunin. Not that it would help any for the upper Chuunin, not to mention Jounin and ANBU, but, at the very least, it would raise her chances of getting into Konoha without being interrogated… at least being interrogated more than usual for a traveler.

Yuriame's intentions behind journeying to Konoha were anything but malevolent. She was about as far from it as you could _get_ if you were looking for threats _to_ the village. Her goal was to do her best to _save_ the village from outside threats _(not to mention the one or two inside threats)_. Now, certain people outside the village, on the other hand… that was another matter entirely. Knowing the future gave Yuriame the power to change it, and to control it to some extent. There were a few people the ten-year-old was planning to kill, one way or another. Whether she would do it herself or tell someone else how all depended on how strong she could get in a set length of time. But she _would_ bring them down, preferably _before_ they could harm anyone important.

'_Orochimaru, Sasori, Uchiha Madara, the Sound Five, Deidara, the list goes on and on, mainly the Akatsuki and Sound Nin… but there are only four so far which I feel _**I**_ have to kill… the rest die of their own accord… Danzou… he'll no doubt be surrounded by Root ANBU, but he's the least of my worries for a while, depending on where I am in the timeline. As long as he doesn't become Hokage he doesn't worry me much. A well timed poison when he's vulnerable or something of the sort should be easy enough. He may not even be a problem at all if I play my cards right. The remaining three, on the other hand… tricky is an understatement by far. Orochimaru… he's strong, semi-immortal, cunning, evil, and way beyond my level. Heh, and _he_ seems hard. The other two make him look like someone a Genin could defeat in an instant. Uchiha Madara… I know almost nothing about him. He has the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, he can flicker himself in and out of this dimension, removing whatever part is about to be hit, most likely semi-immortal, but beyond that, all I know is he's powerful, probably more powerful than Pein. And Pein himself… he's the sole known user of the Rinnegan, amazingly powerful, almost to the point of being immortal. He can control six bodies, each of which has a talent; even _Jiraiya _couldn't bring him down. Hell, Jiraiya could only bring down _one _body, and only temporarily! Naruto would be everyone's best bet for that, but still… he can only save so many people. I suppose even if I couldn't do anything against Pein personally, I could save Kakashi, Jiraiya, Shizune, Hinata, and countless others, assuming I live that long. I'd be amazed if I even lived long enough to save Asuma from dying at the hands of the only true immortal I know of, Hidan… But, no use worrying now, first up is getting into Konoha, next is becoming an academy student, then making Genin, and after that somehow managing to get into the Chuunin Exams the same year as Naruto. _Then_ I'll worry about Orochimaru, Sasuke, and whoever else,' _she strategized.

Yuriame started thinking through the skills she'd need to defeat Pein, Orochimaru, and Madara. She also thought about what skills she would need if she were to defeat each member of the Akatsuki, various Sound Nin, and any other enemies that came to mind. Pretty much all she had right now was medical jutsu and decent chakra control. Helpful as it was, medical knowledge can only take a person so far. As soon as she got to Konoha, she would have to start training. Hard. Other than her medical jutsu, she could manage a wispy Rasengan, if she focused she could make a shadow clone, she could do three or four small jutsu as well, along with one or two original jutsu, but none of them that strong. Yuriame had yet to find out what her chakra types were. From her current skills she gathered that they were wind and either lightning or fire, whichever one wasn't her second type was still a strong one, from what she could tell.

'_Four hours to go… I should be able to make it, if barely. Much longer than that, though, and I'd be sure to pass out for who knows how long. I wish life could just be simpler. And Shikamaru thinks his life is troublesome! Running from potential trackers, unsure of whether I'll be able to get into Konoha in the first place, traveling under a fake name, those things make my life troublesome enough without having to save the world! If the fate of the world didn't rest on my shoulders, I'd gladly join Shikamaru in his cloud watching. Troublesome Akatsuki… they're the main problem, not to mention a royal pain in the ass.'_

Yuriame passed another hour and a half of traveling by focusing on creating a background for herself.

Name: Tayume Yuriame

Parents: Mother-unknown, Father-Tayume Hanshou

Background: Lived with family away from civilization. Unconscious while father was running from enemy Nin. When awoken, was told by father to run toward Konoha incessantly, given a map, locations marked, and a direction to travel in. Had had previous Shinobi training for chakra control.

Why in Konoha: Told to head there. Wanted to have a village to call home, get some friends, and go to an academy to get real Shinobi training.

If Asked: Learned medic jutsu from scroll, and was taught simple jutsu by father.

From there, Yuriame hoped she'd be able to make up anything else on the spot. She hated lying, but it was necessary at times, and she knew she'd never be trusted if they knew her true past. Lying and gaining trust would help her a lot more than telling the truth and being locked up as a prisoner and interrogated.

'_Two and a half more hours… can I make it?'_ she thought desperately.

Yuriame reached into her back pouch and grabbed a soldier pill. She had precious few left, but she had to get to Konoha. There was a chance she was being followed by enemy Nin – that much of her story was true, at least.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

'I'm getting closer. Just a little less than thirty minutes left to go,' thought Yuriame.

She was travelling solely on the ground now; exhaustion had set in making it too dangerous to continue in the trees. The time was approximately 11:40 a.m. The world would occasionally shift, her vision was getting blurry, and the sun was beating down mercilessly, harsh even though it was morning. Her breath was coming in short gasps, not helped by the fact she was dehydrated. Yuriame had had to drop her Genjutsu when she had, by her calculations, approximately fifty minutes left. Nothing sounded better than slowing to a walk, or better yet, lying down to sleep, but she knew she had to keep going.

By the time Yuriame was in sight of Konoha's western gates, after deciding to go under the pretense of a traveler, she could hardly even stay on her feet. Her legs felt like lead and would barely respond to her mind's pleading to keep moving. Fully exhausted, Yuriame collapsed against a nearby tree. From there, her mind slipped into blissful unknowingness.

* * *

I know it's not that great. And I deliberately am keeping you in the dark about her past/heritage/etc. Most of it will be told in flashbacks, dreams, thoughts, and/or confessions.


	3. A Request

Yes, another chapter, sorry it took so long. I'm planning to end up somewhere between 25 and 50 chapters, depending on how large they get. If they get too small I'll start merging them. I'll also let on a little more about Yuriame's past, soon. I haven't even told her name yet have I… Ah, well. It'll probably be chapter five or six or so, depending on the size of the chapters, _possibly_ sooner. This story is deliberately alternate universe (AU) and I changed some things from the manga. I plan to follow most of the manga's plot though, to some extent. I admit, it took a while to tear myself away from reading fanfiction long enough to finish this chapter… but now I have, finally.

Oh, and since nothing is very clear on how the timeline is, I'm just going to say that the Academy is from September to June with two chances to graduate during the year, once in January and once in June. Therefore Naruto can fail three times and only be one year older than everyone. (That's probably way off, but deal with it.) The Chuunin Exams will take place, maybe, in mid July, and again in mid January, perhaps. (Every 6 months.)

I must thank my friend for helping me with this chapter. If it wasn't for her I'd still be stuck hopelessly on the seventh (not to mention the thirty-third) paragraph. Yeah, I was stuck for weeks after I typed "C'mon, Akamaru, it's rude to stare."

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, the plotline would be quite different starting at around chapter 430 (where Pein attacks Konoha). Therefore it should be obvious that I do _not_ own this manga or anime. If I owned the anime it wouldn't have filler episodes.

* * *

_By the time Yuriame was in sight of Konoha's western gates, after deciding to go under the pretense of a traveler, she could hardly even stay on her feet. Her legs felt like lead and would barely respond to her mind's pleading to keep moving. Fully exhausted, Yuriame collapsed against a nearby tree. From there, her mind slipped into blissful unknowingness._

* * *

Gradually, the brown-nearly-black-haired girl's senses came to awareness. The first was feeling; Yuriame was slowly waking up, starting with her body sending her the knowledge that she was somewhere partially conscious. Shortly after that, she gained some hearing and smell. There were sounds, but they were too faint to identify and her mind was unable to register them as of yet, and everything smelled… clean. Those three senses sharpened as she woke up, becoming more and more aware of her surroundings.

Yuriame could now identify the sounds as two things. One was voices; people talking, one female, one male, though she could now make out some mumbling that sounded younger along with another sound she couldn't make out. The second was something Yuriame had only heard personally one time in her life, but it was not the kind of thing you'd puzzle at for hours; it wasn't exactly uncommon, especially for those who watched TV.

Rhythmic beeping; she was in a hospital.

Yuriame hurriedly scanned through her head, gathering stories, reasons, and answers for virtually any question she would be asked.

There were secrets she didn't want known just yet.

She sat up slowly, her body aching from the hell she had put it through… was it… yesterday? Or was it just earlier today? Ah, well. It didn't matter. All Yuriame knew was that she was sore and in a hospital and there were people nearby.

Yuriame had only been sitting up for about a minute when a white puppy came skidding in. It sat down a few feet from her bed and just stared at her, tail motionless, while she stared back. Yuriame could tell by the ears and general features that this puppy was Akamaru, Kiba's puppy, though he seemed smaller than when Kiba first entered the Chuunin Exams. But then again, who knows how accurate the manga and anime actually are.

Yuriame and Akamaru had only been staring at each other for a few seconds when another person entered the room. Both Yuriame and Akamaru looked up to see who it was and neither was surprised in the least.

"Oh, you're finally awake, huh? It took you a while, but it seems Akamaru here noticed you before I did."

Walking through the door was Inuzuka Kiba who could obviously be found anywhere Akamaru was. He looked like he was eleven, or maybe early twelve, it was hard to tell, but he seemed younger than the anime and manga depicted him as being around the time when he became a Genin. So either this was before that or the red markings on Kiba's cheeks made him look younger. Both were a possibility, Yuriame mused.

"Yeah, I just now woke up," Yuriame stated, "How long was I unconscious?"

"Just an hour or two," Kiba replied, "We, Akamaru and I, found you outside the village a little ways when we were doing our training running."

Yuriame sighed silently in relief. She hadn't been unconscious for too long, which probably meant her body wasn't in too bad of condition, though she was surprised she hadn't slept longer. It did only seem like it was two in the afternoon so she assumed she'd been found not long after she had collapsed. Sore muscles were a given for how much she had run, pushing herself to her absolute limits, and how little time she'd had to sleep.

Akamaru resumed staring at her; Yuriame couldn't even begin to fathom what was going through the dog's mind. He was just staring at her, his tail, ears, and expression all remained unmoving, so he didn't seem to be angry, happy, or even confused. She'd even had some experience with dogs and other animals, but this was getting a little unnerving. Kiba noticed her giving a sort of blank look at Akamaru so he turned his head toward his furry companion. And, amazingly enough, even Kiba couldn't figure out what the dog was thinking.

"Hey, Akamaru, what'cha doing? Why are you just looking at her like that?" Kiba asked Akamaru, staring nonplussed at his puppy.

Akamaru gave a sort of distracted yip. Yuriame could tell this dog was practically, if not, human in his thinking and actions, even more so than any other dog she'd ever seen, and she'd seen some pretty human-like dogs.

"That's not really an answer, you know…" He sighed, "Whatever,"

Shortly after this unusual exchange, a blonde-haired nurse walked in the door.

"Oh! I see you're awake. You probably shouldn't be sitting up, though, your entire body is pretty worn out," the nurse directed toward Yuriame.

"I know, but I wanted a better view out the window. Lying down, all I can see is the tree and another building."

"As long as you don't do anything stressful you should be okay, I suppose…" the nurse said a little unsure, "Kiba-kun, could you go tell the Hokage that she's awake? He said he'd like to know."

Kiba sighed in annoyance, "Okay, c'mon, Akamaru." He paused for a moment before he had quite made it out the door. Turning toward Yuriame he asked, "Hey, I never got your name, mine's Kiba, and this is Akamaru," he said, motioning to his puppy.

She hesitated for such a short time it was imperceptible, "Yuriame."

"I guess I'll see ya later. Let's go, Akamaru!"

The white pup yipped in response and ran after Kiba who had started sprinting down the hall.

"While we wait for the Hokage to get here-he said he wanted to talk to you-I'm going to take some of your blood to test it for diseases, okay?"

"Uh, okay." Yuriame had nothing against needles, or even against blood tests… except for the fact it could reveal some stuff she didn't want known… she just hoped her story was good enough to remove suspicion. Refusing a blood test would do anything but help, so sticking to her story was Yuriame's best bet.

'_My name is Tayume Yuriame -not true-. My father's name was Tayume Hanshou -not true either-. I don't know anything about my mother -so not true-. Enemy Nin attacked my father -not true-. There may have been enemy Nin after me so I ran as fast as I could -true, actually-. I'm in Konoha to make friends, become a shinobi, and possibly even find a family to call my own since I have none left -not true at all, except the shinobi part-. Damn, this is going to be tricky to keep to -the truest thing I've heard in the past few weeks-.'_

All of this ran through Yuriame's head as the nurse drew some of her blood with a syringe.

"I'll be right back," stated the nurse, heading off to somewhere with the blood to get it tested.

It was just a few seconds after this that Yuriame would have sworn she had déjà vu except for the fact it was a little different. Akamaru came trotting in and sat down in the same spot as he had before and started staring at her… again. She still couldn't even begin to guess what the hell the pooch could possibly be thinking. She didn't think on it long, though, because Kiba walked through the door along with the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Kiba again glanced at his companion, unsure of what to do since Akamaru wasn't giving him a straight answer.

"C'mon, Akamaru, it's rude to stare."

The Hokage's eyes met Yuriame's with a steady, calculating gaze. She barely had time to notice this before the Hokage's features switched to a kind smile.

"So, how are you feeling, miss…?"

"Tayume Yuriame. And I'm fine. Sore, and perhaps a little tired, but fine."

'_Tired? It's closer to exhausted. I'm just surprised I didn't cause any lasting damage to my body.'_

Yuriame mentally prepared herself for questioning that was sure to come. It was inevitable. Some random ten-year-old shows up at Konoha's gates; a potential spy, a potential assassin, a potential enemy of any kind. It was understandable that they'd interrogate her, though probably it'd be easy interrogation because of her age, nothing too harsh that could scare her if she was a normal ten-year-old.

"I'm the Hokage of this village, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, but you can just call me Hiruzen, if you'd like, or Sarutobi. Might I ask why you were right outside of Konoha?"

Yuriame dropped her head as if remembering sad things.

"My father told me that I could trust Konoha. He told me how to get here and to run without stopping… and I did, so here I am." She gave the Hokage such a bittersweet smile that Yuriame didn't figure anyone could notice that it was a fake.

"Who was your father?"

"Tayume Hanshou."

Kiba didn't even notice the exchange of questions and answers; he was completely focused on getting into his canine companion's mind. No progress was made.

"Was he from Konoha?" Kindness stayed in the Hokage's voice though it was obvious he was suspicious.

"I don't know, he didn't tell me anything about his past at all…"

"Who was your mother?"

"I never knew her."

"You say your father told you to come here… why?"

Yuriame knew this was time to test out her acting skills. She bit her bottom lip in a hesitant way, adorning a sad expression and looking down before shaking her head in a silent 'no', making it look like she was trying hard not to cry.

Whether the Hokage actually bought her act or not was debatable, though it seemed like he might have when he changed the subject, but still Yuriame couldn't tell.

"Do you have any plans for what you are going to do now?"

"Well… I was hoping to find a home, maybe make some friends, and… if possible… become a ninja like my father was. He taught me some already, but I'd like to know more. Is there any chance that could work out?"

'_I just have to keep up the act of a girl who is determined to honor her father's memory and is loyal to any friends or family she gains. If I can do that, things should go relatively smoothly.'_

Yuriame paused her musing to focus her attention on the Hokage who held an overall neutral expression, though she could see a hint of both suspicion and curiosity. She listened intently as the Hokage spoke his reply.

"I'm sure I'll be able to find you someplace to live, though it could take some time, but I will have it figured out before the day is over. As for becoming a ninja, I'll have to ask you some questions later, as well as possibly having someone test your abilities. Until then, I just need to know how old you are."

"I turned ten not too long ago."

"That means that most students your age are just about to end their fifth year at the academy. You have two more years until you're the average graduating age, so if you work hard you'll be caught up by the time you're supposed to graduate. When I've found you a place to live I'll send someone to get you. While you wait, why don't you have Kiba show you around the village some?"

"Arigato, Sarutobi-sama," she thanked, with a nod and a small smile.

The Hokage smiled in return, "I guess I'll be going now. Good bye."

He gave a farewell nod which Yuriame returned.

Kiba seemed to choose this moment to snap out of his figure-out-what-Akamaru-is-thinking daze and wonder at what he missed.

"Wha-? What's going on…?"

By this time the Hokage was out of sight, therefore Yuriame took it upon herself to tell Kiba the result of what had transpired as she adjusted the wrappings on her arms and legs.

"By staying in this room as long as you did, you volunteered to show me around the village. Congratulations, now let's go."

She didn't give him time to refuse as she stood up and found her sandals at the foot of the bed. Heading towards the door, Yuriame glanced back to find that Kiba was following, his gaze locked on his canine companion who seemed to have started acting normally again.

As they exited the doorway, Yuriame shifted to allow Kiba to go first since he was the one that knew the village, not her.

Unfortunately, there were more troubles ahead before the day was over.

* * *

Considering how long I was stuck on writer's block, I thought that turned out okay. I intended for it to be longer, but, then again, I hadn't planned any of the specifics out. I still only have the main plot of the story in my head, and even then it isn't even the whole plot. Please review. Again, I'm sorry this took so long.


	4. Village

I'm still alive. Sorry it took three quarters of forever for me to write, but I can_not_ stay focused on one thing (such as story or hobby) for more than a few days at a time, at least not with fanfiction. The novel I'm writing, maybe, but not fanfiction… too many different ideas floating around.

* * *

Konoha was huge.

Yuriame had seen big. This was _much_ bigger. It was all she could do to remember that there was a restaurant on one corner and a shop on another – much less _which_ restaurant and _which _shop – as Kiba was pointing them out to her. Luckily she could remember all of the important things: academy, Ichiraku's Ramen, training grounds, hospital, Hokage Tower, as well as the largest shinobi weapon shop in the village, in case she ever needed it.

She also tried to remember the names of some of the people Kiba introduced.

…

Good luck with that.

Names had never been Yuriame's strong point in the past and never would be in the future. She was more likely to memorize the entire periodic table!

…

Okay, that may be stretching it a bit, but you get the point.

* * *

The tour around the Village Hidden in the Leaves was over surprisingly quickly and the two of them, three if you count Akamaru, were spread out on the ground, chatting with Nara Shikamaru, one of Kiba's friends and a very dangerous person to talk to if you were hiding something.

…Yuriame unfortunately happened to be doing just that. She was hiding just about everything, even her name.

Before Shikamaru had much of a chance to observe her, thank the heavens, a Chuunin came saying that the Hokage requested Yuriame's presence and he, the Chuunin, would escort her to the Hokage Tower. Yuriame quickly stood up from her spot on the ground and followed the dark-haired shinobi after saying a quick 'good bye'.

* * *

"Do you want to start at the academy now or would you like to wait until the new school year begins? It would be best for you to start as soon as possible, but you can wait and work with a tutor if you want."

Yuriame stood in front of the Hokage in his office, working out the details of schooling and living arrangements.

"I'll start before the year ends. I want to know as soon as possible what skill level I am and that's easiest if I go to the academy."

"Okay then, I'll set you up to start at the academy tomorrow. Now about your living arrangements… there are a few possibilities I've come up with. Haruno Kiku has offered to house you. She is a civilian, but she has a daughter a year older than you who is currently going to the ninja academy by the name of Sakura. She's the same age as Inuzuka Kiba, who you've already met.

"The second option is Mitarashi Anko, a Jounin who lives on her own and doesn't have a Genin team.

"The third option is another family, Akanobara Shuuro and Mareko who have a daughter your age by the name of Nami who is going to the ninja academy. Shuuro is a shinobi, but his wife isn't."

'_I don't want to live with Anko, for sure. I know nothing about the Akanobara except what the Sandaime has already told me. I'll hopefully end up in Sakura's year anyway…'_

Yuriame quickly made up her mind, "Could I meet the Haruno family?"

The Hokage smiled and nodded, "Kiku gets off work at four, so you'll be able to meet her and Sakura around that time. I'll have a Chuunin show you how to get there."

Before Yuriame could reply, someone knocked on the closed door of the Sandaime's office before entering.

"Hokage-sama, I have the results of Yuriame's blood test. What we have as far as clan history goes is… interesting," spoke the nurse that had been the one to check up on Yuriame earlier that day.

The nurse stepped forward and held out a manila folder to the Hokage which he accepted and started looking through after dismissing the nurse, his eyebrows steadily rising as he read the information.

Yuriame, meanwhile, focused all her efforts on looking curious and avoiding fidgeting even slightly. It was inevitable that they learned about a little of her heritage, but that didn't mean she liked people knowing stuff about her that could lead them to learn things she didn't want _anyone_ to know. Knowing some of her heritage was okay, but she really hoped no one learned about her… unfortunate past, if only of her time in this world.

"Did your father ever mention whether you looked like your mother?"

Well, that's _one_ way to ask _'Was it your mother or was it your father who was a Nara?'_

"He commented once or twice that I looked a lot like my mother except for my nose and the shape of my eyes. Why?"

'_Keep acting the curious, ignorant child. Keep acting… I wonder if he'll beat around the bush or if he'll cut straight to the point…'_

The Third's eyes scanned her face, obviously noticing some resemblance as he seemingly nodded to himself.

"These papers say that your blood can be traced back to the Nara, one of Konoha's smaller clans."

Yuriame pretended to think for a moment. "So does that mean I'm related to Shikamaru?"

The Hokage's eyebrows rose and he nodded. "I take it Kiba introduced you?"

"Yes," she said with a steady nod.

Again someone rapped their knuckles on the door, and this time a Chuunin entered. Kamizuki Izumo, if Yuriame remembered correctly.

Izumo looked at Yuriame and then at the Hokage. "It's a little after four, Kiku should be at home, as well as Anko and Mareko. Are you finished, Hokage-sama?"

The Sandaime nodded, "Yes," he looked at the almost-Nara, "Meet with Kiku and Sakura, and get settled in with them if it seems there won't be a problem. I'll send a shinobi to check on you, so if it won't work out you can meet with Anko or the Akanobara family."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Yuriame stood up and went to follow the Chuunin.

'_It looks like the other thing can't be seen in blood tests, unless the Third skipped over that matter. Not that I really expected it to show up, anyway: I'm just a little (or maybe a lot) paranoid and don't want to mess things up... I liked life better when I only had to worry about keeping up my straight A's and writing a fantasy novel for fun while procrastinating with fanfiction...'_

* * *

"You'll be a year lower than me unless you manage to do amazingly on Iruka-sensei's test and then you might be in the same year as me which would be cool! I don't have a sister and me and Ino are rivals more than friends so it's nice to have someone to talk to even if you won't be in the same class as me though I really really really really hope you will! As long as you don't like Sasuke-kun anyway because I like Sasuke-kun."

"Sakura."

"But if you are in the same year as me you'll need to watch out for Naruto he's annoying and dumb and always causes troubles for the class. I mean really he can't even do the basics like the Clone technique he somehow manages to fail with that even though no one else not even Kiba or Shikamaru has trouble with that jutsu."

"Sakura."

"Sasuke-kun does so much better than Naruto does and he's Rookie of the Year and always gets every jutsu right on the first try and never gets questions wrong in class or anything not that I ever get the questions wrong but it does take me a couple of tries to get a technique figured out."

Yuriame felt the urge to pound her head against something, hitting said something _very_ hard. It might shut out this annoying droning noise, at the least. It was like this girl had never heard of taking a breath. She even doubted Sakura would grasp the concept of speaking with words that could be written down on paper with commas rather than just the occasional period or exclamation point.

She sighed: now for the "Sasuke-kun" rant, most likely.

…

Maybe she should have told the shinobi that there was some problem and she couldn't stay with the Haruno family.

It might have saved a headache.

Maybe… Unless Anko was particularly sadistic like she always was.

And that was perfectly likely.

Yuriame sighed again. Next time she would _definitely_ offer to stay in a tree for the night, no doubt about it.

* * *

It was official: Yuriame _hated_ her academy sensei. It was driving her insane how he repeated things. And repeated things… and repeated things…… and repeated things………

She decided she no longer cared if being skilled might look suspicious. She would rather be in _jail_ than in this classroom. At least in jail she's be able to think all she wanted, but in here, with the teacher's annoying voice that stabbed through her concentration…

Yeah, she decided to do all she could to move a year ahead. She wasn't a masochist.

Okay, not to that extent anyway.

Yuriame looked at the clock.

Four… three… two… one.

As soon as the clock said three o' clock, she got up and left the room even though Kayuro-sensei had only just opened his mouth to dismiss the waiting class.

Yuriame exited the front door of the academy, turned to the right, walked a couple steps, and sat down against the wall. Iruka-sensei was going to meet her to test her skills this afternoon.

She had only been watching the clouds for a matter of minutes when Iruka-sensei came.

"You ready, Yuriame?"

"Yep," she picked herself up off the ground and followed Iruka after brushing herself off.

The duo walked to the academy training grounds where Iruka turned to face Yuriame.

"First of all is taijutsu. You are going to fight me and I will determine what level of taijutsu you are at," he nodded at Yuriame who then took a fighting stance.

She took a deep breath and launched forward, curling her left hand into a fist which Iruka-sensei blocked. Yuriame wasted no time in bringing her right leg around in a kick, causing Iruka to release her hand.

Yuriame swung her right leg around, blocked by Iruka. She shifted her stance and struck an elbow at his stomach which he dodged only to narrowly miss a leg sweep Yuriame had dropped into.

The fight had been going for another couple of minutes when Iruka-sensei called it off and complimented her. She was around the level of the average one-year Genin.

"Now it's time for the genjutsu test."

Yuriame nodded briskly before she brought her arms up and flowed through a series of hand seals.

_Bird. Monkey. Ox. Rat. Dog. Ram._

"Magen: Kurai Yume." _Demonic Illusion: Dark Dream_.

Iruka's vision slowly blackened from the edges ending in complete darkness. There was a sound of wind past his ears bringing a strong and sweet but not unpleasant smell as the world slowly grew colder. He brought his hands into a reverse-Ram seal. "Kai."

The darkness faded and the world grew warm again. Iruka-sensei nodded in compliment to Yuriame. The genjutsu was above academy level, for sure. Most academy level techniques focused on one or maybe two of the senses, but this focused on four.

"Ready to try ninjutsu?"

"Yep," Yuriame nodded, "Does it matter what type?"

"No, just use whatever you have," Iruka smiled.

'_Wind, maybe… yes, wind.'_

_Monkey. Dragon. Horse. Bird._

"Fuuton: Kaze no Kogatana no Jutsu!" _Wind Style: Knife of Wind Technique!_

Yuriame sent a blade of slicing wind slow enough that Iruka-sensei easily dodged it so it hit and scratched up a tree further away. Yuriame quickly continued with another jutsu.

_Ram. Snake. Tiger. Cross-seal._

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." _Shadow Clone Technique._

A second Yuriame appeared who started doing hand seals the same as the real Yuriame.

_Dragon. Ram. Dog. Ox. Snake. Rat. Bird._

"Fuuton: Ni Tsuno Saisentan no Kaze no Jutsu!" _Wind Style: Two Cutting Winds Technique!_

Again, the technique was sent slowly to avoid harming her sensei. Iruka again dodged and the technique hit the same tree as the last, tearing the outer bark to shreds… that poor tree.

Yuriame released her shadow clone, "Are there any specific jutsu you want to see?"

Iruka nodded, "Can you do a Henge no Jutsu?"

_Reverse Ram Seal._

"Henge no Jutsu." _Transformation Technique._

Yuriame turned into an exact copy of Iruka-sensei before poofing back to herself.

Smiling, Iruka-sensei summed up how she did; "I'll talk to Hokage-sama, but I believe your skills are Genin level even though you should probably stay in the academy a full year to make sure you have all the necessary book-knowledge. You can go now and tomorrow you may be moved up a year."

"Thank you, Iruka-sensei!" Yuriame smiled, nodded a quick farewell and left to further familiarize herself with the- with _her_ village. It was her home now, wasn't it, in a way? Granted, it was not like the forest she loved from before… it was warmer, further from any mountain, and definitely had different plants and a greater number of deciduous trees instead of mostly evergreens, but it was still a forest and it was friendly… now it was home.

Yuriame walked along streets, fingering the money in her pocket from _before_, occasionally considering buying something but deciding against it every time. No point buying an instrument; as useful as it might be for genjutsu, ninjutsu was her forte. She could get food at the Haruno's; Kiku was a good cook and always fixed dinner and breakfast and bento lunches. Yuriame didn't want to buy weapons until she knew what she would be given at graduation seeing as all new Genin were given a set of low-level supplies.

Sighing, Yuriame jumped into a tree near the training grounds and sat down on a branch, back against the trunk. She thought through her plans, coming up with details and reassessing which parts of the timeline she should or shouldn't change. Some could either be better or worse if meddled with and there was no way to know; those ones annoyed her.

'_Deaths… Haku and Momochi Zabuza, Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Asuma, Jiraiya, Uchiha Itachi… not that many that I actually know the names of… I could probably save Asuma, and maybe Jiraiya, but not the others. But could I even save Jiraiya? Hmm…'_

Yuriame glanced at the sun to see it was around dinner time and decided it was best if she headed back to the Haruno home. No point in missing dinner when she had all night to think and plan, right? There were times when her insomnia was a blessing, but usually it was just a curse, one she couldn't escape.

Yuriame opened the door of her current residence, closing it behind her.

"Oh, you're back, Yuriame-chan. Perfect timing, dinner is almost ready," Kiku greeted.

Yuriame smiled at her, "Thank you, Kiku-san."

"Did Umino-san test you today? Are you going to move up a year, stay where you are, or what?" Kiku inquired.

Sakura chose this moment to pop in, obviously she had heard her mother's question and wanted to know the answer.

Yuriame took a breath, "I'll probably be moved up a year, but Iruka-sensei has to talk to Hokage-sama about it first."

Kiku nodded with a small smile before turning back to where she was cooking rice. Sakura grinned and ran back to her room and Yuriame followed at a slower pace.

As per usual, the moment Yuriame entered the room she and Sakura were sharing, Sakura started ranting from where she sat on the bed, this time with questions.

"Ooooh, I really really really hope you get in the same year as me? Did you use any cool jutsu? Sasuke has cool jutsu. Or did you just do the normal? Do you know Henge no Jutsu and Bunshin no Jutsu? Those are the easy ones but every ninja needs them because they can be really useful if you need a distraction or to intimidate the opponent or something. So what did you do?" She stared at me, her bright green eyes lit up with curiosity.

"I just did taijutsu, a single genjutsu, and a couple of wind-based ninjutsu along with Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. That's it."

Her eyes widened. "Wind-based?? You can use your chakra element?? And KAGE Bunshin? That's like, like Jounin level! Isn't it A-ranked? That's amazing! And it's cool that you can do genjutsu, a lot of people aren't very good at it for some reason though I've never had any trouble but Naruto has never actually used one successfully. But that's awesome, all the stuff you did!"

Yuriame stared at her. "Umm… thanks?"

"You're welcome! Between Kage Bunshin and wind jutsu you're almost sure to move up a year! You'd have to be worse than terrible at everything else to NOT move up a year!!"

"That sounds good to me."

Sakura was grinning like there was no tomorrow, apparently completely forgetting about the fact that every single girl, sans Hinata and a bunch of enemy shinobi, was in love with Sasuke, and, with their logic, Yuriame would have to be in love with him as well. But that forgetfulness was fine with her, she didn't think Uchiha were all that amazing and most definitely wasn't in love with the "avenger". She actually thought Itachi was much cooler, though she didn't think he was overly-amazing, either.

"Girls, it's time for dinner!" Kiku announced.

"Coming!" Sakura answered back.

The pink-haired girl gave Yuriame one final –huge– smile before hopping off of her bed and practically skipping out to the dining room. Yuriame just sighed and followed, again at a slower pace, not feeling the need to be overly excited.

'_At least dinner smells good. I suppose it is a good thing that I'll be moving up a year, though. I'll be the same year as the Rookie Nine, which will be very helpful, especially if I squeeze my way into the Chuunin Exams. And I get to escape Kayuro-sensei, that's a plus.'_

* * *

First of all, is the chapter length is okay, or do you want it to be longer? (This, not including author's notes, is 3,001 words.). I could make them longer now that I'm getting used to writing. Sorry the chapter took so long, it was lack of inspiration, lack of motivation, absolute busyness (between all sorts of little things from getting my braces off to going to my cousin's wedding, to general business in school). If you want this story to be closer to top priority, vote on the poll on my profile. So far this is tied with two other fanfics that have one vote each. When All Else Fails, Hit the Fangirl has six, Flip the Hourglass has five, and Unexpected Circumstances has four, so all three of those are higher priority.

Hopefully the next chapter will be more interesting. This was more for sorting everything out and getting everything together. Yes, I finally made an outline of the next few chapters of the story and from now on I will do my best to push through a section even if it turns out as crap if you people would prefer a little crap but an overall good chapter instead of a completely well-written chapter that takes half of forever. Sorry, long author's note. I'm done.


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